Our Gameweek 18 Sleepers XI article provides Draft managers with a lineup of Fantasy EPL hidden gems. Our starting eleven of Draft Premier League differential picks will help you find a golden ticket to a big score this weekend! These hints and tips will give you a better chance of picking up an all-important victory, as any one of these under-the-radar picks could make the difference in a head-to-head game!
We'll be focusing on players that will bring us not only attacking returns or clean sheets, but also those players that score Ghost Points in the sophisticated and statistics based Fantrax Scoring System!
Fantasy EPL Gameweek 18 Sleepers XI
For this article, we use the percentage rostered calculation from Fantrax and Sleeper. Our only rule is that each player we highlight is rostered in 60% of leagues or fewer at the time of writing. Therefore, there's a good chance some of these players will be free agents in your Draft league! As always, we'll take form, fixtures, projected points, and a healthy dose of intuition into account to make our selections.
Stop the count! Did we just get the highest Sleepers XI score for the season? You bet your sweet Christmas buns we did! Our GW17 Sleepers XI put up a walloping 110.25 FPts. Could we have possibly done better? Let’s see! In net, we went with Leno, basically implementing the tactic of choosing the asset versus Southampton and we got the clean sheet we expected, so 11 FPts was good enough. In our back 4, all of our picks played 90 minutes and 3 of them got clean sheets. Adarabioyo scored the most ghost points with his 15.25 FPts, followed by Castagne with 14 FPts (same tactic as Leno) and finally Gusto getting an acceptable 10 FPts. Maguire was our only defender to have conceded goals, 3 of them in fact, so it makes sense why he got 1.75 FPts. It could have been worse. In our 5 man midfield, we had 2 assists from the Bournemouth boys: Christie and Ouattara, who ended on 22.5 and 18.5 FPts respectively. They were coincidentally the top 2 scorers in our roster. Norgaard also played 90 minutes and scored a reliable 8 FPts. Our remaining 2 midfield picks, Ayari and Hutchinson, were both part of substitutions with the former being subbed on for 33 minutes and scoring 6 FPts, whereas the latter only got -0.5 FPts in 45 minutes with a start. Lastly, Chaplin, our lone FWD, scored 4 FPts in 61 minutes, which wasn’t the best, but he did outscore the likes of Haaland! Surpassing our GW17 score will be very tough but keep reading as we attempt to break our personal best for the season.
The Sleepers XI table below includes a full team of Starters, as well as 5 Reserves - high-upside players with some question marks around whether or not they'll start in Gameweek 18. So keep an eye out when lineups are announced and pick them up if you see them starting, especially if you need to fill a spot on your roster. Read below for the rationale behind each of the Starter selections.
Lukasz Fabianski (G, West Ham)
Some traditions should never die and one of them is playing your defensive assets versus the worst team in the league. Sure, West Ham have only kept 3 clean sheets this season but Southampton have really been struggling to score goals. Not only have the Saints scored the fewest goals this season (11), but they have also scored the fewest goals (1) in the last 4 games. We trust Flappyhandski, especially given his Sv% has been at least 80% over his last 3 games.
Dean Huijsen (D, Bournemouth)
According to our fixture difficulty tracker, the Cherries defenders have the 2nd best rated fixture of all defensive assets in GW18. Although Crystal Palace seem to be turning a corner in their season under Glasner, Huijsen doesn't seem to even need to keep clean sheets to score points! The Dutch giant now has 2 goals in his last 4 games and appears to have a cheeky eye for goal. Our model has him predicted to score 12.2 FPts which makes sense given his 13.9 PPS. This makes him a reliable DEF2 for your roster.
Emerson (D, West Ham)
Emerson is not really an asset you'd be rostering for long periods of the season but when you're facing the worst team in the league, it seems like a no-brainer pick that you at least gamble on the clean sheet. So why not go for an asset with a bit of attacking upside. Emerson has a deadly free-kick and last season he had shown his ability to get forward and register assists (4). Not the worst punt for GW18.
Illia Zabarnyi (D, Bournemouth)
In the last 4 games, only two teams have conceded just 2 goals: Arsenal, one of the best defences in the league, and surprise-surprise, it's Bournemouth. Despite the likes of Eze returning to fitness, it shouldn't scare you from rostering a Bournemouth DEF, especially the likes of Zabarnyi. When considering fit defenders for the Cherries, Zabarnyi's 6.8 gPPS is only second to Huijsen, so it could be a great coverage pick as a DEF3 if your opponent has the likes of Kerkez or even Kepa. It's not like Crystal Palace are scoring loads of goals either.
Tosin Adarabioyo (D, Chelsea)
Maresca has ruled out Fofana and Badiashile for GW18 which means that Adarabioyo could be in line for yet another start for the Blues. If this is the case, Tosin could be squaring up against his old teammates and will be relishing the opportunity to prove why he made the switch to the club down the road. Tosin's 6.2 gPPS is 2nd amongst the Chelsea defenders, which checks out given he's scored the most ghost points of all the Blues defenders over the past four gameweeks. Mind you he only started 3 times. This points production should be a good enough buffer versus a Fulham team that even struggled to score versus Southampton in GW17.
Dango Ouattara (M, Bournemouth)
It's crazy to me that Dango's roster % isn't higher in all leagues right now. In his last 3 appearances he's gotten scores of 20.5, 19.25 and 18.25 FPts. Ok, sure, the first one included a goal and assist and flat-earthers will say "he's on a decline" but the 19.25 haul was purely ghost points, while the 18.25 score was propped up by just one assist! This is a MID 4/5 that is currently scoring like a MID 1. This won't last all season, but while he is hot you definitely should be rostering him, especially if you own the likes of Eze or McNeil. Great stopgap for the festive period.
Kevin Schade (M, Brentford)
Igor Thiago has had a very unlucky time at Brentford this season. After his lengthy preseason injury, this was now followed by an infection with an unknown return date, we're assuming that Schade will be the benefactor of more starts and minutes for the Bees. They're going to have to score more goals now since they defence is absolutely ravaged by injuries and may hamper them from keeping the goals out from their own net. The German MID now has 4 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games for Brentford. Although most of these returns came in one game against Leicester, we think he can get at least 1 attacking return versus Brighton, a team who are currently on poor form despite their league table position. The Seagulls have conceded 9 goals in their last 4 games and seem to be a vulnerable target as they're currently 19th in the form table over the last 4 matches.
Mateus Fernandes (M, Southampton)
Southampton have a new man at the helm, former Croatian midfielder Ivan Juric. He's promised the fans a high-intensity brand of football for the Saints as he aims to help them out of the relegation zone and retain their Premier League status. If that's the case, Southampton need someone to score goals and get assists. I mean goals win games right? That's what some say at least. However given the fact that Southampton are the worst at doing so, you'll probably want to get someone that at least scores ghosts points. Mateus has actually won the most tackles for the Saints as well, a trait that will probably complement the philosophy of football that Juric is trying to implement for the Saints. Mateus Fernandes' 6.0 gPPS should be enough to warrant a spot as a MID-4/5, especially against West Ham, a team who are struggling for consistent form themselves.
Ryan Christie (M, Bournemouth)Â
Where has this Ryan Christie been all season?! 8 key passes in his last 2 starts is no joke. Tavernier being injured has certainly boosted the Scot's opportunity for ghost points given he's had a crack at set pieces like corners. Since December started, Christie leads the Cherries for ghost points (51.25). This is MID-1/2 numbers at the moment and it might only last until Tavernier is back from injury. So you can either ride it until the wheels fall off or use him as a trading chip in a mega-deal with managers that own Saka, who is a buy-low candidate for deep deep rosters.
Goncalo Guedes (F, Wolves)Â
Guedes has been banging on the door for a start for Wolves all season now. Despite getting a goal and 3 assists off the bench this season, Guedes had only managed 1 start during Gary O'Neil's tenure, which is a bit baffling. So there was no surprised that the Portuguese FWD managed to score his highest tally of the season in his first start after O'Neil's departure. Sure, his 18.5 FPts score includes a goal and an assist, which is barely any ghost points, but with players like these who are in purple patches, I'd say take the attacking returns and starts if they come, especially with the Cunha ban looming. Manchester United are up next for Wolves and the Red Devils' defence has been just as leaky as their stadium. So this fixture should be another good opportunity for Guedes to score some points
Rodrigo Gomes (F, Wolves)
Rodrigo Gomes is finally back in the picture. He was one of the hotter prospects during the pre-season fixtures and was being tipped by a few of us as the potential breakout star for Wolves this season. However under Gary O'Neil, Gomes really struggled to find form and consistent starts. So this could be another one of those "new manager bounces" where players find a new lease on life and are properly able to showcase what they're truly capable of. In GW17, Gomes scored his highest tally of the season, 18.75 FPts. Even though he scored a goal, it's the 9.75 ghost points that really catch the eye. Word of caution though, he played in the LWB spot while Ait-Nouri was serving his suspension, so there's a risk that Gomes doesn't get the start again. High risk, high reward though.
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